Atara Biotherapeutics has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for permission to test ATA3219, a CAR T-cell therapy, in clinical trials involving systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with lupus nephritis. CAR T-cell therapies are based on immune T-cells, which…
The first participant has been treated in a Phase 1 clinical trial testing the CAR T-cell therapy CC-97540 (BMS-986353) in people with severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). “The opportunity to provide lupus patients with access to this treatment, all while ensuring they receive the highest level of care, is…
Treatment with RSLV-132 failed to lessen the severity and visible damage caused by skin lesions in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a Phase 2 clinical trial. But the experimental RNA-digesting enzyme did tend to ease general symptoms in patients with more active SLE. That’s according to data…
The antimalarial agent hydroxychloroquine doesn’t appear to lower the risk of preeclampsia during pregnancy in women with lupus, a study reports. The study, “Hydroxychloroquine in lupus pregnancy and risk of preeclampsia,” was published in Arthritis & Rheumatology. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication marked by high…
Modified anti-inflammatory T-regulatory immune cells, known as Tregs, were able to suppress autoimmune activity in cells and in a mouse model of lupus nephritis, a common complication of lupus marked by kidney inflammation, a new study reports. These findings support the development of a Treg-based treatment that uses a…
DNA-bound proteins released from traps cast by neutrophils, a type of immune cell, may help predict which lupus nephritis patients are most likely to respond to treatment two years after a renal (kidney) flare, a study indicates. Those with higher levels of Elastase-DNA and HMGB1-DNA were…
Scientist Akiko Iwasaki will receive the Dr. William E. Paul Distinguished Innovator Award (DIA) to investigate whether ancient viral DNA in our cells is a potential trigger for lupus. The $1 million award from the Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) will fund a four-year research project to investigate whether the…
People with lupus nephritis who are in clinical remission, with no symptoms for at least one year, are 82% less likely to experience impaired kidney function than those who do not remain in remission, a study has found. Moreover, longer sustained remission increases the odds of patients staying in remission…
Scientists have identified a number of proteins in the urine with high diagnostic accuracy for identifying kidney involvement in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Such biomarkers may enable the earlier identification of lupus nephritis, a serious manifestation of SLE that can cause kidney failure, thus allowing for faster interventions…
MyLupus, a new mobile phone app that’s meant to be used between doctor visits, was designed to help people with moderate to severe lupus make more-educated healthcare decisions. The free application was developed by a team of scientists — including rheumatologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)…